Dear Readers, current affairs forms an important component of several competitive exams such as the UPSC Civil Services Examination, SSC CGL, Bank PO & PSU entrance tests, etc. Therefore, understanding those terms/concepts which are in the news becomes critical for aspirants of most competitive exams. In our attempt to make your preparation easier and to help you score better, we at PaGaLGuY bring you brief articles on trending phenomenon/ terms/ concepts.

As we have already discussed ‘El Nino’, let us now discuss a closely related phenomena, namely ‘La Nina’.

What is La Nina?

* La Nina is considered the counterpart of El Nino. It refers to a complex series of oceanic – atmospheric change that occurs due to the cooling of the surface waters of the ocean along the tropical west coast of Southern America. 

* La Nina  may follow El Nino sometimes but not always. 

* La Nina in Spanish means ‘Little girl’ as opposed to El Nino which means ‘Little boy’. At times, La Nina is also referred to as anti-El Nino and El Viejo, which means ‘Old man’ in Spanish.

What is its impact on various countries?

* La Nina’s impact on weather is highly variable and is the opposite of that caused by El Nino.

* La Nina is associated with rainy weather in Australia and Indonesia with cooler sea surface temperature off the coast of South America. Strong La Nina events have also resulted in catastrophic floods in Northern Australia. E.g.: 2010 which was a La Nina year witnessed the worst floods in Queensland, Australia. La Nina has a positive impact on the fishing industry in the West of Southern America it brings cold, plankton and nutrient-rich water to the surface, resulting in improved fish catch.

* It results in sunnier, warmer and drier weather along the southern coast of United States, for example, from California to Florida. Such weather at times increases the chances of wild fires in parts of Florida and results in dryness in the North American Region. The great dust bowl drought of the 1930s was attributed to La Nina-like conditions.

* In Southeast Asia, La Nina brings summer monsoons and it results in greater than average rainfall in Northwest India and Bangladesh which proves to be beneficial as agriculture in India and Bangladesh is heavily dependent on monsoon. 

* It results in above average rainfall and wet conditions over South East Africa and Northern Brazil.

When does it occur?

* La Nino often, though not always, follows the El Nino.

* Monitoring of La Nina is done using a number of technologies such as satellites and buoys. 

* The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates a network of buoys with the aim of observing and measuring air temperature, water surface temperature, wind and humidity, among other things. These buoys transmit data to researchers and meteorologists on day to day basis.